Page 140 of Their Property
Grudge and I wandered toward the reference desk. When the person behind it turned around, I squeaked in surprise at the familiar face.
“Anita!You'rethe librarian here?”
“Oh, hi, Kyrie! And me? No!” She laughed at that. “My sister is the librarian. I'm just helping her out.”
“Oh! I didn't know you had a sister.”
“Yeah, it's kind of a crazy story, actually. We couldn't get in contact with each other when the Collapse started and both thought the other was dead.” She smiled brightly. “Then Gerard brought us together again.”
“Really?” Some pieces were clicking into place now, just not the ones I expected. “You both knew him?”
“No, but my sister Evalyn's boyfriend did. Well,” she snorted, “one of her boyfriends, anyway.”
“I see.”
Anita put down the stack of books she held and leaned her forearms across the desk toward me. “I know you're still unsure about him, Kyrie. He's not the most diplomatic person in the world, and I honestly was scared of him, at first. But then he brought my sister to me and gave her this library to run. And I realized...maybe we need more people like that. People who are abrupt and make things happen instead of hiding behind corruption and generational wealth.”
Her eyes slid over to Grudge. “I was so scared your bodyguards would hurt you. I had the same fear about my sister's boyfriends too. You hear a lot about how awful the men in motorcycle clubs are, but what's the truth?”
Grudge made an annoyed huff, and I leaned into him until my head rested on his shoulder. “They might have done some unsavory things, but my men are the best, and I trust them with my life.”
“Hmm.” Grudge wrapped a possessive arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head.
“My sister would say the same thing.” Anita shrugged. “I think it's the same with Gerard.”
Her staunch defense of him was curious to me in that context, as was the reddening of her cheeks and expanding pupils when she talked about him.
“I'll keep that in mind,” I said, which only made her blush deeper.
“Anyway!” Anita cleared her throat. “Can I help you find anything?”
“I'd actually love to meet your sister, if she's around.”
“Oh, of course! I think she's in the law book collection.”
“Perfect. That's just what we needed anyway.”
It turned out that the library was so huge, Anita had to draw us a map of how to get to that section.
“I should've just brought my bike inside,”Grudge joked as we passed through various wings and collections. He had a point. The corridors were plenty wide enough for a vehicle, and there were very few people around. Hopefully having Gerard as governor would get more foot traffic into here.
Some areas were fascinating and off-beat enough that I wished we could stop and browse. Grudge stared especially longingly at a collection all about the history of Scandinavia.
“We'll stop on our way back,” I promised him.
The moment we stepped into the law book collection, a rough screeching sound made me jump. Grudge shoved me behind him, spinning in search of what had made that awful noise.
“Huh.” He relaxed and pointed to one of the highest bookshelves, which was empty of books but looked to be filled with nesting material such as shredded paper, feathers, and various types of ribbon and string. It took me a second to spot the face staring back at us, two large, dark eyes set in a pale, almost heart-shaped face.
“What is that?” I whispered from behind Grudge's back. “An owl?”
“She's a barn owl with expensive taste. Aren't you, Athena?”
Walking through the stacks toward us was a beautiful woman in her thirties with brown skin and black hair. She smiled cheekily at the still-screeching owl, tossing a long loose braid over her shoulder. “Don't mind her. She thinks this whole place is hers to nest.” Returning her attention to us, she said, “I'm Evalyn, the librarian. What can I help you with?”
“Hi, Evalyn. I'm Kyrie Vance, and this is Grudge.”
She took us in with a thorough look, eyes lingering on Grudge's cut and patch. “Kyrie Vance, old lady to the Sons of Odin?”
